On Wednesday, April 16 of the GEOINT 2013* Symposium, USGIF announced its six winners of the 2013 USGIF Awards Program. This year’s recipients include the Dover Area High School’s Geospatial Technology Program (Academic Achievement); Richard M. Medina, George Mason University (Academic Research); Melissa Martz, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Administrative/Support); Robert L. Arbetter, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Government Achievement); Pixia Corp. (Industry); and the TacSat-3 Exploitation Team (Military Achievement). The winners received their awards on stage in the morning during the general session.

“We received a record number of nominations for the 2013 USGIF Awards Program and the quality of the submissions was extraordinary,” said Kevin Jackson, USGIF’s Awards Subcommittee Chair. “From the curious high school student’s first glimpse into the tradecraft to our trail-blazing veterans, the contributions were significant and meaningful. In every single nomination package there is a story of commitment, passion and unwavering dedication to mission—all intended to make this world a better place.”

The USGIF Awards Program recognizes exceptional work and bright minds from all areas of the GEOINT Community. Award winners are nominated by their colleagues and selected by the USGIF Awards Subcommittee. The 2013 award winners have demonstrated great achievements in advancing the GEOINT tradecraft.

On Thursday, April 17 during the general session, USGIF announced Roberta “Bobbi” Lenczowski as the recipient of the USGIF Arthur C. Lundahl–Thomas C. Finnie Lifetime Achievement Award. Lenczowski is the 10th and first female recipient of the award.

“Any lifetime achievement award evokes reflections, and there are many upfront and background facilitators to thank for their support,” said Lenczowski. “Such an important award could simply be a memorable way to conclude decades of endeavor. However, for me, this award is a reminder that we must continue to pay it forward as mentors and advocates, following the example of both Art Lundahl and Tom Finnie.”

Lenczowski is an independent geospatial information-intelligence consultant who spent 28 years in the public sector. She retired in 2005 from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), where she finished her NGA career as executive director of NGA Campus West in St. Louis. During her tenure in Washington, D.C., Lenczowski served three years as NGA’s technical executive, and was also director of operations with the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) for more than five years. She also served as president of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Currently, Lenczowski is serving her second appointment representing NGA on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing. Previously, she represented NGA on the Department of the Interior’s National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive Advisory Committee, and the Security Affairs Support Association.